My life has been too busy to update this site as much as I would like
during the offseason, and the little time that I have had to write about
the NFL draft has instead been spent writing about Ben Roethlisberger's
ability to keep his DNA, if not his dick, to himself.
I
still haven't worn any of my Steelers T-shirts or sweatshirts in public since Roethlisberger put Milledgeville on the map
a month and a half ago.
Just so everyone knows, my draft blogging this
year will be limited to this post, perhaps a brief post Friday morning
(after Round 1) and Saturday morning (after rounds 2 and 3), with
a wrapup sometime between next Sunday and Tuesday.
I won't do any live blogging this year during the draft. I think it might have been overkill last year, creaming myself over Frank Summers and A.Q. Shipley (who's an Eagle now, by the way) and spending 10 hours a day in my squalid studio apartment on the first real spring
weekend of the year.
Pathetic.
So here's what I've done this year. I've surfed the 'Net for mock drafts and come up with 15 players whose names have appeared next to "Steelers." I'll say a little bit about each one, then we'll talk Friday morning (although I will post the Steelers' 2010 schedule sometime
on Wednesday).
The Steelers have the No. 18 pick in the
first round and 11 overall, including four picks in the fifth round.
They could package some of those picks in a trade to move up, but
I'm hearing this is a deep draft. So maybe more picks is better. Let's
not forget the Steelers were mediocre in 2009 and they're getting
old on defense. They could use some new blood.
Guys who have appeared as Steelers' picks in more than one mock draft:
Maurkice Pouncey, C, Florida (6-4 1/2, 304): This could be the second straight year the Steelers pick the winner of the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's best center. Hopefully if they pick Pouncey, he'll work out better than Shipley. Justin Hartwig
just seems to be keeping the seat warm while the Steelers look for
the next guy who can truly carry the torch of their proud center tradition.
Pouncey seems to have all the tools, although most of his snaps at
Florida were in the shotgun. Pouncey played in the 2010 Sugar Bowl
just hours after getting IVs and being treated for kidney stones.
So if he's a Steeler, maybe he'll be a little tougher than the guy
whose hands will be under his crotch.
Mike Iupati, G, Idaho (6-5, 331): Iupati moved to the United States from American Somoa when he was 14. He was lightly recruited by
higher-profile programs because of academic concerns arising from
the language barrier. So the level of competition in college might
be concern. He didn't allow a sack in 2009 and could end up as a tackle
at the next level. Perhaps not as good an overall blocker as Pouncey,
but might block a little better downfield.
Devin
McCourty, CB, Rutgers (5-11, 193): McCourty could help the
Steelers in two areas of weakness: cornerback and special teams. McCourty
blocked seven kicks during his college career. Ball skills might be
lacking, which isn't something Steelers fans want to hear after all
those dropped interceptions in 2009.
Guys who have appeared only once as Steelers picks in mock drafts (at least the ones I saw):
Joe Haden, CB, Florida (5-11, 193): The best cornerback
in the draft. Doubtful he'll still be there at 18.
Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State (5-10, 194): Probably would be ranked right up there with Haden if it weren't for the weaker competition he faced.
Earl Thomas, S,
Texas (5-10, 208): A ball-hawk. Steelers could use a successor
to Ryan Clark at free safety.
Bryan Bulaga, OT,
Iowa (6-5, 314): Probably won't be there at 18.
Jared
Odrick, DT, Penn State (6-5, 304): Steelers need to get younger
on the defensive line, but Odrick might be more of a defensive end
in the NFL, and the Steelers picked Ziggy Hood in the first round
last year.
C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson (5-11, 196):
Steelers really don't have a true No. 2 running back behind Rashard
Mendenhall, but I expect them to look for a running back in the middle
rounds.
Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame (6-3, 222):
That's right, someone has him going to the Steelers at 18. I don't
know about taking a QB in the first round, but considering the Roethlisberger
situation, the Steelers might want to take a shot at finding the next Tom Brady or Joe Montana-type success story in the middle or late rounds (maybe Cincinnati's Tony Pike?).
Golden
Tate, WR, Notre Dame (5-10, 199): Could be the next Hines
Ward, but even with Santonio Holmes gone, the Steelers have stockpiled
wide receivers and should wait until later rounds to pick one.
Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama (6-3, 249):
Not the Steelers' top position of need.
Charles Brown, OT, USC (6-5, 303); Arrelious Benn, WR, Illinois (6-1, 219); Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma (6-5, 315): All would be reaches at 18.
Ben Roethlisberger is in a place a whole lot different from Milledgeville
today.
He's in New York to meet with NFL commissioner Roger
Goodell, where it is likely he will be asked to drop his pants so
Goodell can whack his big ass 10 times with a paddle shaped like the
NFL shield.
When Goodell is done with Roethlisberger, here's what I think the Steelers should do: Suspend him for two games (if Goodell doesn't
do it), and tell him that if he fucks up the tiniest bit, one lewd
comment to a woman, one speeding ticket, one public urination, one
fart that stinks up the locker room for more than 30 seconds, he's
off the team. Goodbye Roethlisberger. Hello shitload of draft picks (and hopefully an actual player).
It seems there might be some racial tension if
Roethlisberger gets a lighter punishment than Santonio Holmes, who
was shipped out by the Steelers then suspended for four games under
the NFL's substance abuse policy.
Before anyone accuses the Steelers of preference based on race, keep
in mind that the Rooney Rule came from Pittsburgh. Not only did Dan
Rooney introduce the rule requiring NFL teams to interview at least
one minority candidate when hiring coaches, he practiced what he preached
by hiring Mike Tomlin.
District Attorney Fred Bright didn't
charge Roethlisberger on Monday, but by revealing the lewd details
of the investigation, he turned the tide of public opinion against
him, even more so than it was before the announcement.
This all could wear off by training camp, but in listening to Pittsburgh talk radio, it seems the backlash against Roethlisberger
is so strong that there's only one way he can repair his image: By
winning more championships.
That's the Kobe Bryant method
of recovery after a scandal of this type.
But if Roethlisberger goes out and has a year like he did in 2006, he might be run out of town. Unfortunately, I'm concerned that might happen.
See, since no respectable woman
will want to come near Roethlisberger now, his offensive linemen won't
get any sloppy seconds when they go out on the town. So they'll be
less likely to protect him on the field, and he'll probably get sacked
90 times.
So while he wasn't charged with a crime, Roethlisberger
could be sentenced to a lifetime of masturbation.
One way to be paroled from that sentence is to contribute to and volunteer for women's causes. Maybe he could wear pink shoes or pink gloves for breast cancer awareness every game next season. That would be a start, even if for Roethlisberger, "every
game" means only 14 games.
The Steelers will either win or lose today. The only difference is what happens at 2 p.m. today in Milledgeville will have more impact
on the Steelers' organization than what happens at 1 p.m. on a random
Sunday in October.
Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney
Fredric Bright will announce if sexual assault charges will be brought
against Ben Roethlisberger.
This whole ordeal has been a major headache for the Steelers, but at least they got rid of another headache late last night when they traded Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a fifth-round draft pick.
I had enough of Holmes when he announced that he didn't think the
Steelers would be able to pay him enough when he became a free agent.
Sure, Holmes was a Super Bowl MVP, but so was Larry Brown.
And Holmes had his best year in 2009 with 79 catches. But it's hard
to forget all those head-up-the-ass moments from the first three years
of his career.
Holmes just isn't good enough to be acting
like this big-ticket free agent. He made the Steelers sound like the
Pirates. And considering the incident at the Orlando nightclub and
his Twitter transgressions, it wasn't exactly the best time for Holmes
to ruffle feathers.
Holmes got his big-market wish. Somehow I see him taking
up a lot of space on the back pages of the New York tabloids. Just
a hunch.
Who knows? If Holmes keeps acting the way he does,
the spotlight of the Big Apple might get him on 60 Minutes.
Do you smell segue?
Speaking of 60 Minutes ... you guessed it, the emergence of Mike Wallace
makes Holmes' departure a lot easier to swallow.
Wallace was just about invisible during the Steelers' five-game losing streak last
season, catching seven passes for 93 yards. In the last three games, all Steelers' victories, the rookie caught seven passes
for 226 yards and three touchdowns. He's a difference maker, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him next season.
